Department for International Development

Water Aid

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what funding has been provided by her Department to WaterAid in each of the last five years; and if she will make a statement.

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what estimate she has made of the yearly contributions by her Department to WaterAid in each of the next five years; and if she will make a statement.

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, whether her Department has provided administrative support to WaterAid in each of the last five years; and if she will make a statement.

Mr Nick Hurd: WaterAid received over £24million of DFID funding from April 2013 to March 2016. We have so far committed £4.7million in funding for April 2016 to March 2018.DFID funding has contributed to WaterAid directly reaching more than 2 million people with safe water and over 3 million people with sanitation in the last year alone. In addition, our Programme Partnership Arrangement (PPA) funding, effective from 2011 until the end of 2016, enabled WaterAid to improve their overall organisational effectiveness by supporting them to develop stronger Monitoring and Evaluation systems; improve their Value for Money framework and supported growth and innovation throughout the organisation.

South Sudan

Stephen Gethins: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what recent assessment she has made of the humanitarian situation in South Sudan.

Mr Nick Hurd: We are deeply concerned by the deterioration in the security situation in South Sudan. This will make it even harder for aid to reach the millions of South Sudanese displaced from their homes and the almost 5 million, nearly half the population, at risk of severe food insecurity. The UK is taking a lead role. We have contributed £242million to the humanitarian crisis since the outbreak of conflict in December 2013, along with an additional £93million to support South Sudanese refugees in the region. But ultimately the South Sudanese leaders must take responsibility for respecting the ceasefires and protecting their people.

Ministry of Justice

Hate Crime: Prosecutions

Vernon Coaker: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, under what legislation prosecutions are brought against perpetrators of hate crime and racist abuse.

Mike Penning: Hate crimes are criminal behaviour and may be prosecuted in England and Wales using the full range of criminal offences. Sections 29 to 32 of the Crime and Disorder Act 1998 set out racially and religiously aggravated offences covering wounding, assault, damage, harassment (including stalking) and threatening/abusive behaviour which carry higher sentences than equivalent non-aggravated offences. Sections 18 to 23 of the Public Order Act 1986 contain offences of stirring up racial hatred and sections 29B to 29G contain offences of stirring up hatred on grounds of religion or sexual orientation. There is also an offence of racialist chanting at football matches in section 3 of the Football Offences Act 1991. Sections 145 and 146 of the Criminal Justice Act 2003 make it an aggravating factor for the purposes of sentencing if at the time of committing the offence, or immediately before, the offender demonstrated hostility towards the victim on the basis of their race, religion, disability, sexual orientation or transgender identity or that the offence was motivated by hostility towards persons who had that characteristic. Under paragraph 5(2)(g) of Schedule 21 to the 2003 Act., murder motivated by hostility on the grounds of any of these characteristics attracts a life sentence with a 30 year starting point for the minimum term.

Ministry of Defence

Syria: Military Intervention

Natalie McGarry: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assistance his Department has provided to Kurdish forces in Syria in their fight against Daesh in the last 12 months.

Michael Fallon: As part of the Global Coalition, the RAF has conducted airstrikes and surveillance in support of Syrian Democratic Forces offensives in the east of Syria and more recently around Manbij.

Department for Work and Pensions

Social Security Benefits: Disability

Stephen Kinnock: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people are concurrently claiming employment and support allowance and personal independence payments for long-term and degenerative conditions.

Justin Tomlinson: In March 2016 approximately 6,600 Employment and Support Allowance claimants with a long-term and degenerative condition as their primary condition also received Personal Independence Payment.‘Long-term and degenerative conditions’ include cystic fibrosis, multiple sclerosis, other rheumatoid arthritis, Parkinson’s disease and spinal muscular atrophy.

Attendance Allowance

Neil Coyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the cost to his Department has been of administering attendance allowance in each of the last 10 years.

Justin Tomlinson: The information requested is not collated centrally and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Animal Welfare: Sentencing

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether she has had discussions with the Secretary of State for Justice on reviewing sentencing for crimes which involve violence or cruelty against animals.

George Eustice: My officials are in regular dialogue with Ministry of Justice colleagues in relation to sentencing policy with respect to animal cruelty offences including animal fighting.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs: Maps

Mr Virendra Sharma: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what the estimated value is of maps held by her Department.

George Eustice: Core Defra holds a full set of hard copy Ordnance Survey Landranger maps. There are 204 maps in a full Landranger set. The approximate second-hand sale value of all Core Defra hard copy maps is £1000. Most of the mapping data that Defra uses is in electronic format. Mapping data created by Defra, such as noise maps or maps of air quality, are made available as open data, without charge. As such, market value is difficult to ascertain.

Sahaviriya Steel Industries UK: Redcar

Anna Turley: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the effect of the closure of the SSI site in Redcar on (a) the natural environment and (b) Teesmouth national nature reserve.

Rory Stewart: Currently, the SSI site is being maintained in a ‘steady state’ which prevents any potential contaminants from entering the natural environment as well as keeping the public safe and the site secure. Teesmouth National Nature Reserve is not directly affected by the closure of the SSI site. Natural England and the Environment Agency are working together with local business leaders, the Tees Valley Combined Authority and a range of non-government organisations, to explore and identify how existing operations, new economic developments and a series of ambitious environmental enhancements can be taken forward in combination with each other on the estuary. Any future uses of the site would readily be included in this approach.

Trade in Animals and Related Products Regulations 2011

Jim Fitzpatrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when her Department plans to begin the five-year review of the Trade in Animals and Related Products Regulations 2011 required by those regulations.

George Eustice: Defra began its review of the Trade in Animals and Related Products (TARP) Regulations 2011 with formal and informal consultation with customers in October 2015. The intention is to complete the review by the end of 2016.

Scotland Office

UK Withdrawal From EU: Scotland

Natalie McGarry: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, what recent assessment he has made of the potential effect on Scotland of the UK leaving the EU.

David Mundell: The United Kingdom is fundamentally strong and is well-placed to rise to the challenges we face. Following the result of the referendum on the United Kingdom’s membership of the European Union, our focus now needs to be working together as Team UK, to achieve the best deal for both Scotland and the United Kingdom in the negotiations with the EU.